{UAH} INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY MESSAGE FROM DR.BESIGYE
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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY MESSAGE.
Fellow countrymen and women,
It is a very significant day today as the world celebrates International Women's Day.
Women are our mothers, our daughters, our sisters and our dear wives. In Uganda, women constitute a slightly bigger population than men, meaning that if we invested in women, we would have a big human resource.
Ugandan women almost entirely provide the labour force in the agricultural sector. Note that agriculture accounts for 26.6 percent of Uganda's GDP and 80 percent of Uganda's export earnings.
The women almost shoulder all the burden of unpaid household care work. We could go on and on.
This day therefore gives us opportunity, not just to applaud our mothers and sisters but also reflect, as a country, the strides taken to better the lives of these unsung heroes.
Unfortunately in Uganda, as we celebrate this day today 8th March 2019, as many as 15-19 women will die from pregnancy and childbirth-related difficulties; 96 expectant mothers will suffer stillbirth; 81 mothers will lose their young ones a month after delivery and 138 children out of 1000 will die before their 5th birthday. This is tragic and unacceptable.
Our mothers die during labour from preventable causes like excessive bleeding, sepsis, hypertension and others unsafe abortions; their babies die from complications associated with prematurity, complications at birth and neonatal infections.
This is exacerbated by absence of trained healthcare workers, basic medicines such as antibiotics and antiseptics, vital equipment (mama kit) and a clean environment for our women to give birth from.
The mothers and children that survive mortality, the women will see 38% of their children under 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition (stunting), 16% from underweight and 6% from acute malnutrition. Our country has every potential to look after women and their children.
According to UNEB figures, 47% of girls who enter Primary one drop out before sitting PLE influenced by early pregnancy and early marriages.
The girls turned women at a very young age, with limited or no education at all their lives and dreams shattered. As low as only 15percent of girls reach higher institutions of learning like university and tertiary institutions.
Ugandan girls and women have not overcome the scourge of school violence, domestic violence, sexual and gender based violence, rape, economic exclusion, harmful cultural practices like FGM have all fundamentally disempowered our women.
While they provide 85 percent of the labour force in Agriculture, very few own land.
In politics, the affirmative policy has almost failed because women again find themselves burdened with bigger constituencies than their male colleagues. The AA seat is now exclusively for the wealthy women, who often do not want to leave for other upcoming young woman.
It is our responsibility as Ugandans to put in place policies that can uplift the life and well being of this excluded majority.
Uganda envisions a 50/50 equality between men and women in vision 2040. But this can not be attained if we don't prioritise women's inclusion, women's empowerment, women's rights and to a greater extent gender equality.
We need to prioritise the education of the girl, we must create awareness about teenage pregnancies but importantly improve hygiene in schools.
As a country, we must support gender balance and equity, and commit to end all the violations against women and girls.
That is when we can dream of a 50/50 equitable population but also be proud of an all inclusive empowered human resource.
I wish all Ugandans beautiful celebrations!
Kizza Besigye.
--
-- Fellow countrymen and women,
It is a very significant day today as the world celebrates International Women's Day.
Women are our mothers, our daughters, our sisters and our dear wives. In Uganda, women constitute a slightly bigger population than men, meaning that if we invested in women, we would have a big human resource.
Ugandan women almost entirely provide the labour force in the agricultural sector. Note that agriculture accounts for 26.6 percent of Uganda's GDP and 80 percent of Uganda's export earnings.
The women almost shoulder all the burden of unpaid household care work. We could go on and on.
This day therefore gives us opportunity, not just to applaud our mothers and sisters but also reflect, as a country, the strides taken to better the lives of these unsung heroes.
Unfortunately in Uganda, as we celebrate this day today 8th March 2019, as many as 15-19 women will die from pregnancy and childbirth-related difficulties; 96 expectant mothers will suffer stillbirth; 81 mothers will lose their young ones a month after delivery and 138 children out of 1000 will die before their 5th birthday. This is tragic and unacceptable.
Our mothers die during labour from preventable causes like excessive bleeding, sepsis, hypertension and others unsafe abortions; their babies die from complications associated with prematurity, complications at birth and neonatal infections.
This is exacerbated by absence of trained healthcare workers, basic medicines such as antibiotics and antiseptics, vital equipment (mama kit) and a clean environment for our women to give birth from.
The mothers and children that survive mortality, the women will see 38% of their children under 5 suffer from chronic malnutrition (stunting), 16% from underweight and 6% from acute malnutrition. Our country has every potential to look after women and their children.
According to UNEB figures, 47% of girls who enter Primary one drop out before sitting PLE influenced by early pregnancy and early marriages.
The girls turned women at a very young age, with limited or no education at all their lives and dreams shattered. As low as only 15percent of girls reach higher institutions of learning like university and tertiary institutions.
Ugandan girls and women have not overcome the scourge of school violence, domestic violence, sexual and gender based violence, rape, economic exclusion, harmful cultural practices like FGM have all fundamentally disempowered our women.
While they provide 85 percent of the labour force in Agriculture, very few own land.
In politics, the affirmative policy has almost failed because women again find themselves burdened with bigger constituencies than their male colleagues. The AA seat is now exclusively for the wealthy women, who often do not want to leave for other upcoming young woman.
It is our responsibility as Ugandans to put in place policies that can uplift the life and well being of this excluded majority.
Uganda envisions a 50/50 equality between men and women in vision 2040. But this can not be attained if we don't prioritise women's inclusion, women's empowerment, women's rights and to a greater extent gender equality.
We need to prioritise the education of the girl, we must create awareness about teenage pregnancies but importantly improve hygiene in schools.
As a country, we must support gender balance and equity, and commit to end all the violations against women and girls.
That is when we can dream of a 50/50 equitable population but also be proud of an all inclusive empowered human resource.
I wish all Ugandans beautiful celebrations!
Kizza Besigye.
H.OGWAPITI
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"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
---Theodore Roosevelt
-----------------------------------------------------
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
---Theodore Roosevelt
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